New York Grants Its 18th BitLicense to Crypto ‘Prime Broker’ Tagomi

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has awarded its latest BitLicense to crypto brokerage startup Tagomi Trading LLC.

Announced Wednesday, this is the 18th such license issued since the NYDFS finalized its controversial regulatory regime for virtual currency businesses in 2015. Tagomi has also been granted a traditional state money transmission license, according to an NYDFS press release.

CEO Greg Tusar said in a statement that the approval means Tagomi will be “New York’s first agency brokerage for virtual currencies,” meaning it will place trades on clients’ behalf in bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash and litecoin and look to fill their orders at the best prices available as quickly as possible.

Tusar added:

“Our team of industry veterans has developed our order routing services with sophisticated clients in mind, and we look forward to expanding our presence with New Yorkers.”

Tagomi recently raised $12 million to offer prime brokerage (i.e., high-touch) services to hedge funds investing in cryptocurrencies. The startup went live in December, with a total of $28 million raised overall.

The company will “prioritize transparency” with its services, Tagomi general counsel Dhawal Sharma said in a statement.